Harry Potter and The Mirror of Enchantment
by JobbyShipper
Summary: Based in the movieverse, it is after the events of Order of the Phoenix, where new information befalls Draco Malfoy over the summer just before returning to Hogwarts. He knows of two at least that must be told the truth: Harry Potter and Professor Snape..
1. Prologue

**Harry Potter**

**And The Mirror ****of ****Enchantment**

**By Jobby Shipper**

Rating: Mature

Pairings: Harry x Draco

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Harry Potter, the other characters, the world they live in, or anything else about the story. All of those rights belong to J. K. Rowling. I am doing this for my own fun and enjoyment.

Timeline: Takes place in the movie verse ONLY and right after Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix.

Arthur's Disclaimer: I have never ready the books, only seen the movies, and this story was something that came to mind shortly after seeing the 5th film, and I figured it would be an interesting story to tell. Since Draco's mother hasn't been in the movies that I'm aware of, it allows the movie verse a chance for a story to be told that is impossible to tell in the novel verse. I hope you will all put aside the continuity of the novels to enjoy this story as it is. Thank you.

**Prologue**

Thunder rumbled in the distance, allowing for eerie shadows to be cast off the large, looming, gothic mansion that was Malfoy Manor. It would surely begin raining before long, but it was very easy to tell that it had already rained earlier. Drenching sheets had actually fallen from the dark sky before, and the promise of more rain to come brought happiness to the plant life around the grounds, despite that there was so little to be happy about at such a desolate place.

In his study, deep in thought, Lucius Malfoy was sitting at his desk reading the latest edition of The Daily Prophet. A scowl was on his face from the pages that he was reading. Much of the attack in The Ministry of Magic had been put off as merely a fight between only Dumbledore and The Dark Lord himself. Everyone knew for a fact that Voldemort had returned now, and there was little to be done to otherwise persuade Cornelius Fudge of otherwise. Although the fool had unexpectedly allowed Voldemort time to prepare for the coming war with his Death Eaters at his ever beak and call, their spared time had run out and The Ministry were in the process of searching out for anyone that had involvement with 'He Who Must Not Be Named'.

The scowl turned into a smirk at that. There was little to no chance that Lucius would be fingered as there was no proof to him being a Death Eater. People obviously knew now. The Boy Who Lived had been the first to find out, but he hadn't specifically revealed anything, not that it would've mattered anyway. Not even his band of young wizards that had fought with Harry Potter would be able to prove that he was with The Death Eaters they had faced. So he was obviously very safe in that standing, but there were others that could cause him problems.

Remus Lupin and Alistair Moody were among those. Lucius could discredit children from Hogwarts, but two wizards that were well respected in the wizarding community would most likely be a different story. The only thing that kept Lucius thinking that he still had the power of no proof was that the entire summer had gone by without him being questioned or sought after for arrest. It was very rewarding to him to know that he was so protected.

His smirk opened slightly as a wicked, but quiet, laugh escaped his lips before he placed his hand to his chin, winding up with the smirk present once more. It occurred to him that being the powerful man that he was tended to cause the possibilities of rumors about him being in Voldemort's camp a bit mute. The Malfoy's had been a very powerful family for generations. Though they all had their corrupt nature to them, no one could ever put proof to anything that had been done, and Lucius didn't plan to be the first to slip up either.

It would've been ill advised to allow something so foolish to occur in the first place. He was a well respected dignitary in the wizarding world, and his son Draco's future depended on keeping the family name from becoming stained. That was why his darling, beautiful wife, Narcissa, had to be dealt with. It was a tragic loss, but what life didn't have some sort of tragedy involved in it? It was an inescapable part of any person's world no matter if they were pureblood, half-blood, muggle, mudblood, or whatever you were.

Lucius had never told Draco the truth about his mother, and hadn't even needed to mention anything to him about it until the blonde haired boy was a year away from starting at Hogwarts. He, of course, lied to his son about it, giving one of the easiest explanations anyone could give: she had died in a car crash. It had actually been rather humorous to say the least in all honesty, considering that he apparently thought alike with the Dursley family, the people that had taken care of The Boy Who Lived for so many long years.

Then, the sheer thought of that made Lucius' skin crawl. Comparing himself to mere muggles, especially ones as repulsive from what he had learned to a man of such powerful, noble dignity was, by no stretch of the imagination, something that Lucius should ever actually pride himself on, not that he'd actually do so in the first place, that was. However, even still, he owned those horrid muggles a bit of gratitude for trying to keep Potter away from the wizarding world.

Not that it was actually his doing in the first place anyway, but he was partially responsible for where Potter ended up. Dumbledore had never actually thought it worth his time to explain the past of Mister Harry Potter's placement in the wizarding world originally, nor did the old headmaster find it really necessary to tell him more then he actually needed to know. If Lucius had actually cared at all about the boy, he would've educated him in the truth.

The rain started pouring once more in drenching sheets as Lucius stood up from his desk and moved over to the window, looking out at the beauty of the rain as it fell. He remembered the day so very well when Dumbledore decided that the boy couldn't go with whom he rightfully belonged with. It was during an emergency meeting at The Ministry of Magic that Lucius had offered rather ceremoniously to take care of The Boy Who Lived as his own, claiming brightly that Draco needed a brother in his life, and after having lost his brother, could've used a younger brother. However, Dumbledore saw right through Lucius, believing even that early on that Lucius had been a Death Eater.

It was a mistake that Albus Dumbledore would live to regret for sure. Sadly though, it was one that Lucius had to deal with on a daily basis. His son had turned out to be less then helpful when it came to dealing with Potter though. Lucius was doing everything he could please The Dark Lord, but it appeared as if that would never be enough to stop The Boy Who Lived, and it looked as if Draco would never accept the destiny that had been laid out before him in order to help insure the downfall of Harry Potter.

Lucius' face hindered slightly, and he didn't allow his look to recover either for that matter. Whenever he thought of his son, all he could do was feel a tad disgusted by how poorly things had turned out. It was no surprise to Lucius that Draco Malfoy was more of a coward and loner then someone that could someday be worthy enough to actually take over the great work that Lucius had done with his life. If Draco had even been offered The Dark Mark, he'd probably decline having it, forcing The Death Eaters to kill him, and it would've been no surprise if they forced Lucius to do the deed himself. That would be much like Voldemort.

All these thoughts made him wonder if things would've been different had Narcissa still been alive to have helped care for him. Lucius scoffed once more. _'Like it would've made much of a difference anyway,'_ he thought to himself, and it made complete sense as well. Narcissa was never a cruel person and everyone knew it. She was the light of the eye of maybe people when she went to places like Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. And he didn't even want to think of the things that occurred when she made a historical appearance at Hogwarts.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Lucius suddenly brought his face back to its normal, emotionless demeanor. The last thing he needed was for his son to walk in when he had the look of disgust for him clearly present, even if he was presently looking out the window. It would've been saddening to him if it didn't seem so pathetic. He used to take so much pride in his son. His first two years at Hogwarts had shown much greatness in Draco and his blooming rivalry with Harry Potter was something that would become legend at the school for decades to come. All of that came crashing down in the third year though, when his own son whined and cried to him about a blasted Hippogriff named Buckbeak that had attacked him. Some of the other kids in Slytherin had even told him that Draco had been such a baby over the attack.

Lucius didn't know what it was that had come over his son to make him become such a… what was the word that muggles used? Pansy? Yes, that was the word. Draco had been coming into his own, and then the evolution completely stopped out of nowhere. It was so embarrassing to Lucius that he actually had to take the whole thing to The Ministry of Magic in order to have the damn creature killed, but in order to keep his son happy, in hopes that he could overcome whatever blasted weakness had taken hold of him. Sadly though, he seemed to get worse. Lucius had to keep getting more contacts within Hogwarts to see if there was any type improvement in the boy, but trusting in Slytherin students like Crabbe and Goyle was, in all honest, a waste of his time, and the others hadn't ever seemed to be too much of a help either, but what little he did learn had to be good enough.

Perhaps his mother's weakness had managed to come out in Draco after all. It seemed like a far fetched idea considering that he'd only been two years old when she died, but there was no other explanation that could suffice for him. What hurt his pride was about everything was that there was no chance that he would be able to find a new woman to marry, especially with the implications. He hadn't even felt that remarriage was all that important until Draco seemed to become a lost cause. All he could do was hope that he could actually get a new hair to continue the Malfoy name the proper way.

Sure, that seemed very cruel, but the Malfoy family had never been known to really be all that generous to anyone. It was a common fact. You dealt with the Malfoys, you were dealing with devils… Except with his son, you were dealing with…. Well, he wasn't sure he wanted to put words to it besides the muggle word pansy. _'Oh what does it matter anyway, Lucius?' _he thought._ 'Once you admit it to yourself, then you'll be able to accept it and move on to other things.'_

Lucius knew he needed something to drink, and pumpkin juice simply wasn't going to do the trick for him, but what else was there? Muggle alcohol? It wasn't exactly a delicacy in any pureblood wizard family, and he honestly didn't need anything that would affect his mood anyway. Pumpkin juice was his only answer, and so he moved over to the small bar and poured him some, taking a sip of it as he moved back over to the desk and sat down again, pondering over things once more.

All of the thinking he'd been doing about Draco had him wondering a very important thing. Most of Draco's summer after everything with The Death Eaters, The Order, Doris Umbridge's stay at Hogwarts coming to an end, and so on, he'd spent a lot of time in his room, simply preparing himself for his sixth year at the school. It was a normal thing for Draco to do during the summers, but he didn't spend everyday hold up in his room. The boy rarely came to meals at the same time Lucius was, and it was all he could do but to not wonder what could possibly be going on with him.

'_Why do you care?'_ Lucius thought. _'He's become weak, useless in your eyes, and you should just kill him right now. Try some other way to get a new heir. You know the truth about him. You've seen his journals… The things he says in them about… other guys.' _Lucius finished drinking the rest of his pumpkin juice in one gulp after thinking all of that and sighed. A tear actually came to his eye, but he wiped it away immediately. Emotions made someone weak, and Lucius Malfoy was far from it. He was strong and would prove it to everyone that dared to cross him very soon.

* * *

The room was very spacious. Any boy would be lucky to have a room of such luxurious accommodations, considering everything inside, but the blonde haired boy that sat on the bed, hearing the pattering of the rain on the roof, looked anything but happy. His mind was scattered, and his face showed confusion that no one would understand unless he were willing to open up, and it wasn't entirely likely that he would do even that. 

The last two weeks of summer vacation had been a very enlightening one for Draco Malfoy, but at the same time, it had also been very confusing as well. It would've never even happened if Draco hadn't actually done something that his father had forbidden him to do years before: He explored Malfoy Manor, but made sure that it was late in the night when he did. For some reason, the house that would eventually become his own wasn't some sort of secret, hidden mansion in the forest that needed the mysteries discovered according to his father. It sounded like some video game he'd heard about. Something muggles played, but he never bothered with such useless devices as the video game consoles. He was far better then that.

However, Draco had never been one to disobey his father either, but after everything that happened in the past year, he felt he needed something to keep himself occupied, and it needed to be a bit dangerous, because he had to face it, being a Malfoy wasn't really a dangerous life, despite all of the horrible things that had been going on, and considering that it was more then obvious that his family wasn't really the kind that got the rebuttal of the problems seemed to make things even more boring for him.

After all the years of his life, it seemed only right to take a stand against his father for once and do something that he wanted instead of what daddy dearest thought was right. However, Draco was no fool. He only did his rebelling at night when his father was asleep and unable to know of what he was doing. He had sword to the house elves and anyone else that he would come across to keep what they'd seen to themselves upon pain of death if they told. Thankfully, his threats hadn't fallen on dull ears, because he was never presented to his father for what he was doing.

As he sat on his bed though, just staring at nothing in particular, Draco couldn't help but ask himself it was really all worth it. So much had finally changed in his eyes, but it wasn't like he could actually go around explaining things to people. How could he? Somehow, his father would find out what was going on and put a stop to everything immediately. He'd probably even be killed in the process as well. It was that bad… Well, it wasn't bad for Draco entirely, but still bad for his father, and things would wind up even worse for him should things be revealed. However, Draco knew good and well that nothing ever stays buried. Everything comes out in the end, and this was sure to do so before too long. It was all a matter of when.

For that matter, it was also about who he actually told. This revelation was too deep, too intense, too horrifying, and made Draco feel like he had been betrayed in every single way. All signs pointing him to the realization that the Malfoy family would never be the same again once this information had got out, but the question lied as to when it would get out… _'No! You idiot! That's not the question at all, and you know it! Someone has to be told! Who are you going to tell though? Potter?'_

A large smirk appeared on his face as he thought about that possibility. It seemed like the logical person to go to, considering the ramifications of what he now knew, but after everything that he'd done, all of the horrible things he'd said and done, and the way he treated him… It just didn't seem likely that Potter would care, nor even give him the chance to explain what it was that needed to be told. As badly as he wanted to let Potter in on the whole thing, and with everything that had been told him, it was the right thing to do, but he was too frightened of total rejection before things could be explained to him in full.

Severus Snape had a right to know though as well. What difference it really made was uncertain… No, that wasn't true. It made a world of difference, and he knew that his potions professor would have to be informed. There was Dumbledore, but that old fool didn't exactly need to be involved. He liked to put his big nose in people's business where it didn't belong, and there wasn't anything he could do about it anyway, so that was totally out of the question once he came down to the decision. Perhaps Professor Trelawney would've been a good candidate to take things to since she had her premonitions, but Doris Umbridge had been right about trying to get rid of her, despite being reinstated after Umbridge was thrown out of Hogwarts. Trelawney had a sense about her though that there was logic behind her madness. Although she wasn't involved in what had been discovered, a helping hand from someone like her could've been of use.

A lot of decisions had to be made for sure. Draco had spent all of the time after discovering the treasure that he'd found learning everything of what could've been for so long, and hadn't even realized until that very day that it was his last day of break before returning to Hogwarts. He knew good and well that his decision to reveal what he knew to others could put them in just as much, if not more, danger as he would be in for simply knowing, but it made little difference at this point. The truth had been revealed to him, and he was about to set off on a quest that would define his future, and if nothing else, change the very path that Draco Malfoy had set off on originally, which was to follow everything that his father had laid out for him. He would no longer linger in the shadow of the man that he knew wasn't entirely pure as his blood begged to challenge him. Just because Lucius Malfoy was a pureblood, did not excuse that he was no where near the man that he once worshiped and one day wanted to become.

Precious knowledge as it was, Draco knew that he had to tread lightly for the remainder of the day and until he was safely back at Hogwarts and away from Malfoy Manor. It would be difficult for him to accomplish, but considering the alternative, he didn't want to slip up, for it could mean his very demise, and he knew, deep down, that simple wasn't in the cards for himself. Draco Malfoy was evolving, and the future rest in his hands, and what he had found during his search to discover the mysteries of Malfoy Manor.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

In the darkest of dreary days, the Dursley House at Number 4 Privet Drive was, as usual, no comfort to the spectacled boy, lying on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. The summer had come and gone with little to actually keep Harry Potter occupied outside of the thoughts that had plagued him the entire time he was back at the disappointment of a home away from Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. That didn't entirely surprise him though. Why would it? Putting up with the Dursley family was a joke, a horrible joke that had been played on him when he was just a little boy, and someone apparently thought there was still reason to keep laughing.

From what little he knew, it was Albus Dumbledore that had caused the joke in the first place, but he had never really put blame on the headmaster of Hogwarts. Harry had too much respect for the man that had given him so much. One could only wonder though what kind of life he could've had if he hadn't been placed with his horrid Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia in the first place, but who else had there been? His parents had died when he was a baby, and his Godfather had been imprisoned for crimes he didn't commit...

A tear rolled down the Gryffindor's right eye, and he simply left it there. The truly most miserable part of the entire summer had been living with the death of Sirius Black. There had been so many plans. Henry would've finally been rid of the Dursley family once and for all once the dangers for Sirius had past. However, in a cruel twist of fate, his Godfather's life had been taken away right before his very eyes within the walls of The Ministry of Magic. The memories were still so near to him, and the pain he felt was truly unbearable to comprehend. Through the heartache, nothing seemed to calm his senses at all.

Rage slowly filled Harry Potter's body as he sat up on the bed, grasping the comforter in his fists as he allowed the full memories to consume him. Bellatrix Lestrange had been the culprit. The nasty witch that had only recently escaped from Azkaban prison shortly before everything fell apart had been the one to do the wicked deed, casting the Avada Kedavra on Sirius. It was a truly deafening tragedy to say the least, but what had lingered most in Harry's mind was that he had gone after the woman, pure hatred in his eyes as he'd taken off after her intent on killing her. The one thing that had stopped him from doing so was the arrival of Voldemort.

Voldemort... That name had been a curse for him ever since he'd first learned it from Hagrid in The Leaky Caldron before starting his first year at Hogwarts. It seemed that the attacks from The Dark Lord would never come to an end as every year he was tested further by the deceitful plans of He Who Must Not Be Named. First Professor Quirrell, then the young Voldemort, Tom Riddle, controlling the Basilisk that he had Ginny Wesley release from The Chamber of Secrets, and then finding out that Peter Pettigrew, Wormtail, a follower of Voldemort, had framed Harry's Godfather for helping in the death of his parents and had disguised himself as Ron's rat Scabbards, and then of course, Voldemort's rebirth, and the death of Cedric Digory. That last one had caused psychological pain to Harry, along with nightmares that he still hadn't managed to get over. Then, finally, in his fifth year, Harry and his friends had to fight a loosing battle with Voldemort and his Death Eaters that ended in the painful death of Sirius Black.

After everything that he'd been through, Harry Potter knew that anymore problems from Voldemort were obviously in the cards, or in the bloody crystal ball as Professor Trelawney taught about in her Divination class all so very much. He had never thought she was a credible teacher in all honesty, but she was a high mark on his O.W.L.S. It seemed like a logical reason to keep taking her classes, and he did usually get a good laugh out of her when she tripped over something, so her being reinstated was a very good bit of news, but that was about the only thing he'd received besides his grades over the summer. Other then those two things, Hogwarts had been rather quiet. The course listing for his sixth year hadn't even arrived yet so he could pick out classes to take.

It wasn't that he was in that big a hurry to get the class listing, but it would've been nice to have some sort of schedule to go by. However, here it was just a day before school was to start back, and no word on his being allowed back at Hogwarts had been sent. Well, classes obviously wouldn't start right away, but students were expected to be back before the next evening so they could get settled in. Knowing good and well that the Dursley's weren't going to take him to the train station, he needed a way to get there, but the last letter he'd gotten from the Wesley's had been over a week ago. If they were going to come by for him, it didn't exactly...

Harry's thoughts were interrupted as Petunia opened the door and walked in. He sat up off his back and looked to her a bit worriedly. "Yes, Aunt Petunia?"

"There was a phone call for you," Petunia said. "I almost hung up right away, because I recognized the voice as one of those wizards you associate with, but I decided to be civil and hear them out. I believe his name was Bon or Con, or something. I could barely understand him."

"Ron," Harry said, a tad annoyed that she couldn't even get a simple name like Ron's right, but he did his best not to show his annoyance so Aunt Petunia wouldn't get angry with him.

"Yes, that was it," Petunia said with a nod. "He said that they wouldn't be able to pick you up for school. Something has come up and they have to take a... Oh, what was it? It was something about having a fever... It was really strange to me. I never listened to your mother when she talked about the witch ways with our parents, but I'm sure you know that."

Harry nodded slowly, clutching the comforter on the bed once more. "I remember." He knew it all too well actually. Petunia was his mother's sister after all, and back before he started his first year, her views of her sister had been greatly understood. "And I know what you're talking about. It's fine. I'll just take the Night Bus."

Aunt Petunia nodded and started out the door, but turned back toward Harry before she did, wanting to say something, but she stopped herself and just walked out the door, closing it behind her as she went, going back toward the stairs so she could get back to making lunch, mentally making a note that it would just be for three today.

Harry had a confused look on his face from the way Petunia was acting before walking out, but just shrugged it off as he got off the bed and moved over to his closet. All of his things were packed and ready to go as he had actually taken care of all of that a week ago in anticipation of leaving the Dursley house early, but there had been no such luck of that actually happening sadly. After putting his wand in his pocket for safe keeping, taking the handle of his large trunk, and picking up the cage that Hedwig was soundly sleeping in, Harry moved over to the door and walked out of the room, moving over to the steps.

It was a difficult task getting his things down the steps, but he always managed to do it with ease, and this time had accomplished the task without waking Hedwig. That had been a feat of victory in itself as it was apparent that he was getting rather good with his finesse. The smell of an early lunch had drifted into the hall, and Harry knew instantly what Petunia was making: meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes, and she had rolls in the oven, not to mention that there was probably an apple pie sitting on the counter cooling as well. If nothing else, Petunia was definitely a very good cook. That would've been the only thing he'd missed of this horrid place if he'd have been able to live with Sirius, but he was sure that there would've been fine cooking there as well considering The Order of the Phoenix were there a lot to do such things.

It wasn't that he doubted that Sirius could cook though. Harry just didn't know whether or not he could. There had been so little time for the two to get to know each other better before he'd been stolen away from him. Tears filled Harry's eyes once more as he looked to the front door and then back toward the kitchen again. Something almost wanted him to actually stay there long enough to have dinner, but Aunt Petunia knew that he had to be on his way, or he'd miss The Night Bus, then miss the train at Platform 9 ¾ to top it all off, and lastly, be in trouble with Professor McGonagall for his lateness or something. There seemed to always been room for him to get in trouble over something.

Before actually accomplishing either of the two options he had been thinking over, despite knowing that leaving was honestly the only real option open to him, his thought process was stopped as Dudley Dursley walked into the hall from the living room. He glared at Harry for a moment and then looked down at his stuff before looking back up to him, his glare hindering slightly.

"Dudley," Harry said with a slight nod.

"Harry," Dudley replied before pushing past him and going right up the stairs without saying anything else.

A slight smile crossed Harry's face as he turned to watch Dudley going up the stairs. After the accident that Dudley had been in with Harry last year at this same time because of Dementors, a new found respect had been formed between the two in a way. Dudley wouldn't try to make wisecracks or pick on Harry, and Harry wouldn't cast any spells on him, considering that Harry had saved him from probably being killed after all. Perhaps that was the reason for Aunt Petunia's change in attitude of late as well, but he honestly wasn't sure. Uncle Vernon hadn't changed his views of Harry, and probably never will. He still believed it was Harry's fault what had happened last summer.

Suddenly there was a rather quickened tapping at the front door. Harry turned away from the staircase and toward the front door once more as he went to answer the door, having to move past the large trunk to do so, but before he could even turn the handle, he heard the voice from behind him that had become the very bane of his existence for the majority of his life.

"I'll get it, Harry," Vernon said. "Who knows who might be coming to call at this time in the evening? I think it best that you just stand back."

Harry had a difficult time moving out of the way of Vernon's extremely large form. The man simply kept getting bigger every year. He needed to start exercising, because the way he was simply wasn't healthy at all, not that Harry was going to actually show the man that had been like a nemesis to him for years any compassion. It probably would be taken as an act of war if he'd even said anything on the subject to Vernon anyway, so Harry did what he knew how to do best and kept his mouth shut.

As Vernon opened the door, the tall frame of the mustached Remus Lupin walked inside, smiling to Harry before looking to the large man that had let him inside. "Ah, hello, fine sir. You must be Mr. Dursley. I've heard so much about you." He lightly smirked, though his mustache covered it up. _'And boy, were those things unkind.'_ He wasn't too surprised though, considering the why the man looked before him. "My name is Professor Lupin. I've come to pick up, Harry. Have some chocolate." Remus handed over a piece of chocolate to him.

Vernon looked over to Harry. "Now these are the kinds of people you need here. At least he's kind enough to give someone food." And with that, Vernon walked off, enjoying his candy as he moved back toward the kitchen to get ready for his dinner.

"I was hoping that would get rid of him," Lupin said before closing the door and looking down to Harry as his smirk turned into a smile. "Arthur Wesley informed me that they were unable to pick you up this year, so I took the liberty of coming by myself to take care of the task so you didn't end up having to take The Night Bus. Besides, I can get you to the train station much faster anyway."

"It's good to see you, Professor Lupin," Harry said. "I wanted to contact you a few times over the summer, but I didn't have the means of doing so."

"That's quite alright Harry," Lupin said. "We were both grieving over Sirius in our own ways, so there was little that we could do for one another anyway. Come. Have some candy. You'll feel better." He handed over a piece of candy to Harry, hoping that it might help him as he could tell the boy was getting upset talking about Sirius. In truth, Remus was as well, so he had a piece of chocolate as well. "Let's get your things in the car, unless you'd like to say some goodbyes first."

"Oh, I think my leaving is goodbye enough for them actually," Harry said seriously, though some would've considered it a joke, which simply wasn't the case for him. The Dursley's had a much quieter life when he wasn't around during the school term.

* * *

The drive to the train station had been rather quiet for the most part. Harry had wanted to say some things many times, but couldn't exactly get up the nerve to do so. They had both obviously lost someone very close in Sirius. Godfather to Harry, and close friend to Remus, it was no secret that he would always be missed. It was killing him though that he couldn't find the right words to say to his former Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher... Heck, the only one that had been worth anything for that matter, or at least he'd been the only one that he'd really learned something from. 

It was odd thinking back to all of the strange ones they'd had at that post over the years, and since Harry had started there, the teacher had to be replaced every year it seemed. First, there was the stammering Quirrell with Voldemort on the back of his head, who'd tried to steal The Sorcerer's Stone. Then, there was Lockhart, the fake that had stolen from other wizards and witches, taking their memories afterwards. After that, had been Mr. Lupin, but he had to leave because of Professor Snape and of course being a werewolf obviously had something to do with it as well. Next to last, was Crouch, Jr. taking the form of Alistor Moody thanks to Polly Juice Potion. And finally, last year was Doris Umbridge, and he didn't even want to go into the details of her. She was a memory best left to rest.

Upon arriving at the train station, both Harry and Lupin got out of the car. Lupin helped Harry with getting his trunk out after Harry got out the cage Hedwig was in. Looking to Lupin, Harry felt a tear coming to his eye, knowing that he simply couldn't walk away from his former professor without talking to him about everything that had happened. However, what he ended up doing first had shocked the both of them. Harry hugged Lupin tightly.

At first, the hug wasn't returned because of shock, but after a few moments, Lupin finally returned the hug. "Harry, what's wrong?"

"Everything, Professor," Harry said, looking up to him. "I'm sorry about Sirius... I don't know what to really say anymore. I've been reliving everything that happened, thinking there had to be something I could've done."

"There wasn't, Harry," Lupin said. "You and Sirius both knew what you were getting into, Sirius most of all. Being part of The Order of the Phoenix isn't a picnic, Harry. He did what needed to be done, and he died helping you. That was a death that he was more then likely glad to have accepted."

"Yes, but will this pain ever go away?" Harry asked, finally pulling out of the embrace and looking up to Lupin for hope.

"Pain always eases with time, Harry," Lupin said, "But the problem is that it will always be there in one form or another for you, for me, for anyone that ever cared about Sirius, but as long as we don't forget about him, he will live on in our hearts, minds, and even our souls, just like James and Lilly live on through you. I know that probably seems like cold comfort, but it's the best that anyone can offer. That same advice was given to me by Dumbledore, and I'm sure he would've wanted me to pass that along to you as well."

"Speaking of which, professor, I never received any of my papers about class scheduling or anything," Henry informed. "Do you know why I didn't get any of those necessary things? I never got a chance to have my school books got for the year."

"Well, that's no good," Lupin said, a confused look on his face. "Something was definitely overlooked there. Listen, I'll send out an owl to Hogwarts after I leave you to inform them of the miscommunication. I'm sure they'll have everything sorted out before you even get off the train. How does that sound?"

Harry nodded slowly. "Hopefully you're right, and it was just some oversight. I'm a bit worried this has to do with Volde..."

"Don't say his name in public, Harry," Lupin cut him off. "It's bad enough that we've been in the open like this for as long as we have. There's no telling who's watching us, if we were followed, and if you've been watched all summer. He Who Must Not Be Named has spies all over. You know this. Get on to the train. It'll be leaving soon. I'll be in contact with you as soon as I get the chance, Harry. Have a good semester."

With a smile, Lupin got into the car and drove off once more as Harry watched him go. Once the car was out of sight, he picked up the cage Hedwig was in and grabbed the handle for his large trunk, moving into the large train station that he'd become so accustomed to using so often to get to the correct platform. It amazed him that muggles had never actually noticed people just flying right through the portal between Platforms 9 and 10, but then again, they didn't usual see much.

The closest that had ever really been achieved though was when the portal had been closed by Dobby in second year. That had caused a huge headache for both Harry and Ron as they had to steal Arthur's flying car to take to Hogwarts, nearly getting themselves expelled because of muggles seeing the car flying, which they weren't exactly accustomed to. Thankfully nothing like that had ever happened again since Dobby had been told never to try to save Harry Potter's life ever again after he'd helped the house elf gain his freedom from Lucius Malfoy by placing the sock in Tom Riddle's Diary that Harry had handed to Lucius, whom then handed over to Dobby. Dobby had even saved his life from Lucius right after that incident happened.

However, that was the past, and focusing on the present was what was most important to Harry. Getting onto the platform and in the train before he was left behind needed to be accomplished, and so he found himself getting his run and go. He had a lot less with him this time it seemed since he wasn't pushing a cart, but then again, considering the time he was living in, and the dangers that existed by carrying around too much stuff if say Death Eaters showed up, caused the potential problem of getting away and not leaving something vital behind.

Upon finally getting through the portal into Platform 9 ¾, Harry made his way to the closest entrance he could find for the train. Just from simply looking at all of the parents waving toward windows, he could tell that the train was getting ready to leave, but he managed to arrive in time to get himself and his luggage onboard, and settled in, checking on Hedwig quickly to make sure that she was comfortable, and then he went off to look for Ron and Hermione so he could sit down and enjoy the ride while reminiscing with his friends that he hadn't seen all summer, and hopefully, at the same time, start the healing process after loosing Sirius Black.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Draco Malfoy was completely wiped out by the time he managed to sit down in the cabin that he was currently in, staring absent mindedly at Crabbe and Goyle, sitting on the opposite side of him. There was currently no one sitting beside him, and it would probably remain that way, as it normally did. Blaise Zabini had better things to do then actually sit and talk to him for awhile, not that it even really mattered to Draco.

'_Ok, maybe it does a little,'_ Draco thought to himself as he scowled silently, knowing that it probably still caught the attention of both his stooges. Not that he would actually bother to explain the reason for his change in facial expressions to them, and they knew better then to question him on such things anyway. Blaise had been someone of particular interest to Draco for a long time, being the very attractive black boy that he was, but Blaise had never really seemed to notice Draco, and even seemed to almost dislike him for reasons that Draco didn't know, and wouldn't be told by Blaise either for that matter.

The way Draco saw it though, if Blaise didn't care, nor see any interest in him, then it was his own loss, and there were better guys out there for him. Draco had admitted a long time ago that he was at the very least bi-sexual, though he had the feeling that it was becoming more then that day by day. Not that he wanted to reveal the truth to anyone, with the exception of a certain one, as it would probably take his status in society down severely. He tried to hide his true sexual preference whenever he had the chance to do, including taking a girl to ball during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but his longed for someone much more then of the female sex, as it simply interested him less and less.

Besides Blaise though, there had been few other males that had caught his interest, but perhaps there was someone that he had never thought of before. Gently touching the small bag sitting beside him on his seat, he knew what was inside and the value that it possessed to him and his future year at Hogwarts...

'_No, you're not thinking on a large enough scale, Draco!' _Draco thought to himself._ 'You have to see the long term effects here. Not just the short term of one year! That was what you were told after all. Don't forget everything that you learned.'_

Wanting desperately to let out a saddened sigh, Draco had to use all his strength to make sure that he didn't succeed in doing so in the first place. Scowling randomly around Crabbe and Goyle was one thing, but to flat out show an act of sadness or depression would've been ill advised. Draco knew very clearly that his two goons were most likely only so willing to follow his orders, because they had been forced to do so by his father way back in the first year. That all made sense considering that, being a Malfoy, Draco needed people to watch his back and make sure that no harm ever came to him. Without them, he could get mobbed by mudbloods and many of their friends as well. It was no secrets the ill feelings he had on those sorts considering that he would rub that word in the face of Hermione Granger as often as he possibly could.

Sadly, that pastime would probably have to come to an end now after everything that had come into his knowledge over the summer. Draco had pondered over the whole concept for quite a long time, not entirely sure whether or not he really had to be that civil, but in the long run, it made more sense to. Enlightenment came with its price it seemed, and, in all honesty, if Draco was truly going to take the path that had been offered before him now, it was only right to accept it fully and without any exceptions to the rule.

However, that also meant renouncing everything that he had been before now as well. Not that he wasn't entirely willing to accept it, but the problem was, it frightened Draco having to make such drastic changes in the way he lived his life. Only time would be able to fully tell whether or not everything would work out for him, but it was going to be a long semester, and possibly entire year at Hogwarts as well, depending on the way everything went down. The problem was that Draco didn't exactly know how to get things started down the correct road. He was sure that, in time, all would be revealed to him in full, and guidance would be offered, but he truly felt like he was almost completely alone in this situation.

His father would be the most difficult part of the entire process. Keeping the truth from him would be next to impossible to achieve for very long, especially with Crabbe and Goyle constantly following him like scalded dogs. It was pathetic, but greatly expected. Any other year, Draco would've been pleased to have such loyal followers, but this unforeseen turn of events had greatly changed things. It could very well be for both the better, and for the worse all at the same time. Draco would surely be a lot happier if things feel into place the way he'd hopped, but there were obstacles in the path, more then he could fully expect in all honesty.

To better understand the situation, someone would actually have to be inside Draco Malfoy's head, or be told what was going on. The list of allies was already inside his mind, churning out future outcomes, and trying to work others into the equation to see what that would eventually bring to the table for him. Each time, they were either placed into a positive area or a negative area in the plans. He would've actually written everything down instead of trying to wrack his brain for answers and storage, but anything written could be stolen from him by Crabbe and Goyle, or anyone else that was in his father's pocket, and in all truthfulness, Draco had no clue how many Slytherins were under the influence of the Death Eater that he would never truly consider his father again now that he discovered everything that had became so very clear to him.

It was just a marvel, however, that Draco had managed to get out of Malfoy Manor without a run in with his father. In all of the previous years, right before leaving to start off to Hogwarts, he always found his father sitting him down in that office like study of his to discuss plans for the year, and an ever growing feeling within Draco's mind was that he was to be asked to join the ranks of the Death Eaters at some point this year. However, considered that Draco had rarely seen his father, except for the occasional meal, it made sense that his father was simply trying to leave him at peace. Even still, it left a rather odd feeling in his mind that there was more to it then just not being sat down for a long talk. For all he knew, it might've been because of the storm. His father was odd about the weather. Perhaps it was a bad omen or something.

Finally deciding to push those thoughts aside, Draco could feel that the train was getting ready to start moving, and it was about time to. Having to sit there for as long as he did as he waited for all of the blasted students to get in was torture every year. They seemed to leave the train station a little slower every time, and it made Draco wonder if there was a real reason for the stalling. Perhaps his father had realized the mistake of not talking to Draco before he left and had held up the train long enough for him to get on and find him. It was probably just him being paranoid though, so he just sat back and sighed slightly, not sadly, but a bit relieved. That was a normal thing for him when it came to his patience, so Crabbe and Goyle took no notice as they were used to it.

Suddenly, being brought out of his thoughts, Draco caught the slight glimpse of a raven haired boy in glasses slowly walking down the corridor. Quickly turning his head, the Slytherin boy saw that he had been right. It was Harry Potter walking by. Gulping slightly, Draco almost stood up right then so he could rush to Harry and tell him everything that needed to be said, but that would've been a very foolish move on his part with Crabbe and Goyle right there to see the entire thing occur and then go rush off to his father, so he would have no choice but to wait as he watched Harry glare for a lingering few seconds at him before pushing onward.

Normally, that kind of look from Potter would've brought out an angered reaction from the blonde, but not this time. _'He looks really good,'_ was the only thought that he had at the time. _'He's grown a bit and let his hair grow back out like it was when he participated in the Tri-Wizard Tournament.'_ Draco had always been partial to boys with longer hair, considering that he had let his own hair grow out as well, very thankful that he no longer had that ridiculously short hair that he always had to slick back at his father's request.

It had seemed that the main reason that he was allowed to actually grow out his hair when he was a bit older in his third year at Hogwarts was because it was in preparation for him to eventually be like his father with his extremely long locks of white hair. It made Draco cringe to think about him having to become a miniature version of his father, and in all honesty, his hair was near the point now where it would soon be like his father's if it kept growing anymore. Perhaps that had been a very good hint to him about having to become a Death Eater this year.

Wanting to snicker at the mere absurdity in what he had just thought of his father, Draco managed to stifle it. To actually think that his right of passage was the length of his hair was a completely preposterous idea that caused the boy to wonder if he was truly loosing his mind thinking such. Paranoia seemed to be a common trait among the rich wizarding communities, and his father had a huge abundance of it. Perhaps he was getting it as well, placing his hair in the category of Death Eater initiation. It might've even caused him to laugh if it was actually funny instead of pathetic on his part.

Feeling pathetic wasn't entirely what had been a heavy weight on his heart of late though. It was most likely a mild to extreme cause of depression, but Draco Malfoy was far from a Psychiatrist, not that there actually were many of those in the wizarding community. Dumbledore was about as close to one of those that you'd get, or maybe McGonagall... Although Professor Snape, being the good mentor that he was, probably had some of those characteristics as well.

'_Stop it, Draco!'_ he thought to himself. _'You're rambling over your professors! Get your act together before you really do go insane!'_

"Guess we're finally moving," Goyle said, breaking the silence, since the train had actually began rolling fully down the tracks. He'd never been too good with uncomfortable silences, and it appeared to him that something to say on the matter would be helpful. It hadn't gone unnoticed that his master was deep in thought over something.

"What a brilliant deduction, Goyle!" Draco snapped to him as he looked directly in his eyes, filling himself with hatred to show that he still had power and control over them. The last thing he wanted was their loyalty lingering, at least for a while, he would still need them, and for them to not go running to his father with ill news to report about him. They were traitors to the one person they were supposed to be protecting, but then again, they were both idiots in their own right, thinking with their stomachs more then their brains.

Goyle looked down at his feet after Draco snapped at him. Maybe the blonde that had led him for so long wasn't cracking or anything after all. His deep thoughts were just a new thing in the Malfoy's evolution. It made sense to him after all, so pressing it anymore would probably have been ill advised, as he'd probably find himself without a job and in Lucius' ill favor to top it off.

Draco was very satisfied with the reaction that he got from Goyle when he snapped at him in his usual 'Old Draco' tone. Keeping up appearances was the name of the game, as long as he was playing well ahead of the game, he wouldn't loose a step till he had everything fully mapped out and ready to be accomplished the way it needed to be. His one hope though was that it wouldn't take him long to get the ball rolling. Patience was something that Draco had always had little of, and although it might've been his downfall, it was the best way to ensure a possible victory.

* * *

The look Harry Potter had given to the always vulgar Draco Malfoy was less that what he'd really deserved. A simple glare seemed to be less then sufficient, but it was all the raven haired boy could muster at the time. He was rather tired. The Train rides had always done as such to him it seemed. However, the odd part was that Draco didn't rush out of his cabin to try to pick a fight with him. Any other time, he was sure that the Slytherin would've gladly left his seat in order to say something vile and despicable.

In all honest though, Harry could've cared less as he passed the other cabins by, briefly glancing in each of them for his two closest friends. He'd caught a glimpse of Neville Longbottom in one cabin, sitting next to Ginny Weasley. He'd waved politely to both of them before continuing onward. Harry also saw others like Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin, but one of the few that weren't really all that bad in Harry's eyes, as well as Luna Lovegood, a girl that he'd met for the first time last term, who'd even helped in The Ministry of Magic incident sitting quietly, looking out the window in her cabin. Another Slytherin that didn't really associate with many people at all, Blaise Zabini, past him by, going to find the trolley most likely, considering that the train was already moving.

The one person that he really wanted to see more then anyone had been Cho Chang. She had been the girl that he crushed on during his forth year, and had gotten closer to the previous year. It had been nice to finally get so close to the Asian girl, but the problem was, after a conversation that he'd had with Ron and Hermione, Harry had decided to back off and give her a bit of space. She had been through a very trying time because of the loss of Cedric Digory. It was no lie that Harry even had dealt with it rather badly as well since he had been the one to witness his friend's death. Such a tragedy could've brought them together, but at the same time, Harry knew that having been through so much, it wasn't right for him to try to push his feelings on her like he felt he'd been doing.

He honestly couldn't see himself with any other girl though. That was what made the space he was giving Cho so difficult on him. Sure, there had been other girls that had been rather interested in him, like Ginny Weasley, but he had no real interest in her, and besides, one of his best friends was her older brother. Talk about uncomfortable. On this train of thought, Harry couldn't help but wonder if there had ever been a chance with Hermione as well. He knew that she had been trying to get close with Ron, and deep down, Ron had feelings for her too, but neither one of them would ever really make a move, and it could only make Harry wonder if he shouldn't have. He and Hermione had been through a lot, and she was rather attractive and smart, both qualities that Harry liked about her.

Before he could continue thinking all of this over, Harry finally arrived upon the cabin that Ron and Hermione were staying in. He smiled before opening the door and walking in, taking a seat beside Ron. "Hey."

"We were starting to wonder if you even made it, Harry," Ron said. "I'm really sorry, you know? Things have been pretty busy lately, and there just wasn't time to spare."

"Its fine, Ron, really," Harry said.

"I know how bad things are for you though with that family you live with," Ron said. "And I couldn't even get the chance to send you any more letters either. That's why the last one was over a week ago. You got my phone call earlier though, right?"

"Yeah, my aunt came to tell me," Harry replied. "Thanks for doing that."

"Sure," Ron said lightly. "It was the least I could do after all."

"Why has things been so busy for you guys?" Harry asked.

Ron glanced over to Hermione for a moment before looking back to Harry once more. "Well, you know. With school coming up, my parents were working overtime to make the money necessary for our school books and supplies. We just needed..."

"After all this time, Ron, you should know that I know when you're lying," Harry said, having taken notice of Ron's look to Hermione before speaking again. "I know you're not telling me something. The mad rush before school starts back doesn't exactly cover it, because they've had mad rushes in the past and still been able to pick me up."

"Harry, you should know that a lot has been changing," Hermione said, speaking up for the first time since Harry had shown up. She had been keeping to herself rather well, but knew that it couldn't exactly stay that way. She had always been the one to talk if something were up. "To tell you the truth, we didn't think you would make the train at all. There was rumor that you weren't going to be admitted back to Hogwarts this year."

Harry was shocked to hear this. "What? Hermione, you can't be serious. Why would..." Then it hit him. The absence of information from Hogwarts came rushing back to his mind. "I knew there had to be some reason why I hadn't received the class schedules and my sixth year acceptance letter. Why are they trying to do this?"

"We're not supposed to say," Ron said, looking to Hermione with anger in his eyes for her actually opening her big mouth about everything. "We really were opposed to it the whole time, Harry. You have to believe me there, but when things are decided, there isn't exactly anything that we can do about it."

"So what were they expecting?" Harry asked, his anger rising. "Did they think that I'd just sit around at the Dursley's and not try to do something? They should've known that I would've used The Night Bus to..."

"The Night Bus was strictly ordered not to come anywhere near where you live and to not stop if they were to see you," Hermione said, not allowing Harry the chance to finish what he was saying. "There were a lot of steps taken by The Order of the Phoenix to..."

"So that's it then?" Harry asked, not interrupting Hermione like she'd done to him moments before. "It's Professor Dumbledore, isn't it? Last year he was trying to ignore me, and this year, he's trying to completely get rid of me. That's just great."

"Well, if you'd let me finish, perhaps I could explain everything to you," Hermione said, taking offense to the way Harry was talking to her. She understood the way he was reacting though. It truly did make sense that he would be upset. She and Ron obviously were as well, but they had no control over what The Order had decided.

"You probably shouldn't finish, Hermione," Ron said. "We could be expelled for just saying everything that you've blurted out already."

"Well, someone had to tell him, Ronald," Hermione barked to the redhead. "Honestly, did you expect me to just sit here and not tell him and wait for him to find out once we arrive at the other train station, or perhaps at the doors of Hogwarts?"

"What will happen?" Harry asked. "Are they going to actually make me turn around and go back to the train?"

"Most likely," Hermione replied with a nod. "That would probably depend on who saw you first though. Professor Dumbledore may have been the one to make this happen, but not everyone agreed to it within The Order."

"Professor Lupin," Harry whispered to himself.

Hermione couldn't hear what Harry said as it was more or less a mumble to her, but she caught Ron's shocked expression. Since he was sitting beside Harry, it made sense that he would've heard. "What was that?" she asked of Harry.

"He said Professor Lupin," Ron replied, not allowing Harry to repeat it himself. "How did you know about Lupin, Harry?"

"He was the one that picked me up from the Dursley's and took me to the train station," Harry replied. "I told him that I hadn't gotten any of my information for this year, and he said that he'd take care of it, but he didn't breathe one word of this to me at all."

"Don't be mad at him about it, Harry," Hermione said. "He was one of the only two that didn't agree with the idea of keeping you away from the wizarding world for the year. It looks like Professor Lupin has decided to act on his own view of things outside The Order."

"Wait, how did you two know about any of this?" Harry asked. "Aren't the meeting with The Order supposed to be private between the members only? They wouldn't have told either of you about this."

"Of course not," Ron said. "But in this case, they had no choice. If we weren't told what was going on, and we found that you weren't on the train or at Hogwarts, we'd probably have gone after you, or I would've went for you myself the day before yesterday, most likely. They had to make sure to prevent anyone from helping you."

"They just didn't count on R. J. Lupin, I guess," Harry said.

Suddenly the lady with the trolley came rolling by as she opened the door to the cabin lightly. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" She had a bright smile on her face as always and didn't take notice to the apparent tension in the cabin.

"No thanks," Harry said absent mindedly.

"I'm fine," Ron stated, looking to her with a slight smile.

"Not right now," Hermione said lightly.

As the woman closed the door once more and started off, Harry looked back to Ron and then over to Hermione. He wasn't sure which one of them to address, or if he wanted to even keep up with the conversation either for that matter. The raven haired boy felt betrayed, and rightfully so. Neither of his two best friends had come to him with this information before he arrived on the train, and nor did Lupin tell him about the any of this either.

"We know this hurts, Harry," Hermione said. "You've been left out of the loop a lot when it comes to Professor Dumbledore. I'm sure that's very frustrating for you."

"You don't even know the half of it, Hermione," Harry snapped at her, turning away from her after his outburst.

Hermione looked down sadly, really shocked from the way Harry had talked to her. She remembered that Harry's mood had been really off a lot last year, and it might possibly be worse this year. That had been one of the topics of discussion in the order meeting that she remembered most considering that she'd witnessed some of it first hand. However, in all the years that she had known Harry, the way he had spoken to her was nothing like she's seen out of him before, and it left her feeling drained.

Ron was equally as upset over the way Harry had talked to Hermione. "Harry, you don't have to talk to Hermione like that. She's trying to help you understand all of this, just like I am. We honestly don't know what you're really going through, but you lost someone really close to you last year. Professor Dumbledore believed that a year away from all of this, and possibly a year that Voldemort could be dealt with so you could come back to peaceful times would've been good for you."

"I seriously doubt that," Harry said, looking over to Ron, still as angry as he had been when he'd snapped at Hermione. "It's becoming pretty obvious where your loyalties lie now. Neither of you would tell me what was going on, and I don't know whose worse, you two, or Professor Lupin." He looked back over to Hermione. "You said that there were two that had disagreed about what Dumbledore wanted done with me. Unless I don't know how to count, that means that only one of you didn't think that I should be banned from coming back, or that neither of you did."

"We didn't get to vote on the situation, Harry," Hermione explained. "We were only merely allowed to sit in on the proceedings. They knew that we wouldn't want to go along with it."

"That's right, Harry," Ron said defensively. "I can't believe you'd think that we'd both actually want to go along with that idea. It's not right for them to try to keep you away, and obviously they didn't get away with it."

"Then who was the other?" Harry asked. "I guess it was your father, wasn't it, Ron? Mr. Weasley always did think of me like another son."

Ron groaned. "Sorry, Harry. Sadly my dad actually agreed with Dumbledore."

Harry was shocked. "You're kidding?"

"It was Professor Snape," Hermione said.

Harry's eyes switched from Ron and back to Hermione. His shocked expression seemed to get even more apparent. "Professor Snape? But he's never really cared about me. Why would he care if I was back or not? I would've figured that he'd be glad to see me gone."

"That was brought up as well, but it appears that he thinks it would be worse if you weren't back," Hermione explained. "We feel the same way. If you're not here, then there's really no one that can truly stand up to The Dark Lord with the way things seem to be growing."

"What's Voldemort been up to now?" Harry asked.

"There's little information that I can tell you," Hermione replied. "Not because I can't. It's because I don't know any. Anything about Voldemort is being kept strictly within The Order."

"We need to find Professor Snape when we get off the train," Harry said with a slight nod as he was more or less just talking to himself now.

"It's very likely that he'll be there to find you, Harry," Hermione told him. "If Professor Lupin got you to the train, then Professor Snape will be the one to get you in Hogwarts. I don't know how they plan to accomplish this alone though. They should've included us in what they were planning so we could've helped coordinate."

Harry shook his head. "It was probably a last minute thing that they decided on, so they didn't exactly have time, and plus, there would've been no way for either to get in touch with Ron without his dad finding out and going to Dumbledore."

"That's true," Ron said. "And using an owl would've probably taken too long. Everything had only been decided on completely a few days ago. They were holding off on sending out your information till they had a final decision, and that's why you got nothing."

Harry leaned back in the seat, sighing. This was going to be a long year, it seemed... Or it could've possibly been a short one if Lupin and Snape's plans didn't work out. They were just two men, and even with Ron and Hermione's help, there was still the good chance that he would end up sent home before he would get justice for this injustice that had been brought down upon him. Only time would tell if things would work out. In the meantime though, Harry closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, but before he could actually fall asleep or something, he sighed and spoke...

"I'm sorry for my earlier outburst." And with that, sleep took hold of Harry as his mind started working overtime, trying to piece together the puzzle that had been laid before him by his two best friends. If nothing else, he greatly hoped that Professor Snape would be waiting for him at the train stop so more could be explained to him of his and Lupin's plan. Otherwise, he was still in the dark, and didn't quite know if a light would be turned on in concerns of the situation he was now in.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The Hogwarts Express pulled into the station after a very long, tense ride for some onboard. The majority were happy to be back, others didn't seem as excited. That was especially true for a certain four, though only three of them were together in what they were dealing with. For the most part, the kids were talking about their new semester, the classes they were taking, and what they planned to do during the entire year.

For one Harry Potter though, things weren't as joyful, and the topic of conversation was complete silence, as the raven haired boy wasn't entirely sure what was in store for him this year, nor if he'd even have a year. The Gryffindor felt betrayed, no doubt. If nothing else, he couldn't help but wonder why Dumbledore and the others, save a small handful, had decided such a decision against him without even bothering to tell him one bit of information. They'd even forced Ron and Hermione to keep silent to him and go about their business.

It seemed as if Harry would get no say in anything that went on in his life in the wizarding world, and it made him wonder what else he hadn't been told about. There could've been a whole slue of secrets between The Order of the Phoenix, involving him, which they'd remained mum about, dating back to when he was a little baby, just after his parents were killed by Voldemort. The possibilities for their betrayal were endless, and it made Harry feel very sick at his stomach just thinking about it.

"Potter!" was what Harry heard coming from within the building at the train station. He turned seeing Professor Severus Snape looking out from behind a corner pillar, so he wouldn't be seen. Harry turned and started moving toward him, motioning with his hand for Ron and Hermione to follow after him. It was odd seeing Snape acting the way he was.

"When did you become a secret agent, Professor Snape?" Harry asked.

"When you were no longer allowed to be at Hogwarts, Potter," Snape growled at him. "All of you, come with me immediately. We will have to take a different route to the school then everyone else." And with that, Snape was off, moving toward the forest that was at the end of the train station. It would lead them into The Forbidden Forest, but it was the best he had to offer to get to Hogwarts unseen.

"Professor Snape..." Harry began before being cut off.

"Silence, Potter!" Snape snapped. "We'll talk once we're in the forest."

And so Harry said nothing else as they continued onward. He kept glancing behind him, thinking that someone might see them moving off the way they were, but it seemed that everyone else was too busy dealing with their luggage or getting into the carriages. They would have a much more difficult road this time it seemed. It seemed to be a necessary evil though as there was nothing else for it. Whatever happened though, he had to have answers from Professor Snape.

* * *

Stepping off the train, Draco Malfoy immediately started his search for Harry, not knowing where he had gotten to, but he specifically made sure to get off of the train before Crabbe and Goyle, hoping to find him before his two goons could catch up to him. He'd had to push past a lot of people rather rudely to accomplish it, but that was the Malfoy way anyway, so no one was any bit the wiser about him demanding to get off the train before a good portion of everyone else.

The problem was, in this large crowd of students exiting the train, he couldn't find the raven haired boy at all. It was very discouraging for him to say the least. The Weasel and mudblood weren't anywhere in sight either. Sighing in frustration, he started moving around, almost at a run as he was searching the large groups of people as they moved toward the carriages to be taken to Hogwarts. Either they were really fast, or they hadn't even left the train yet.

There was the chance that they were still on the train, so Draco stood there waiting. However, his luck turned terrible as Crabbe and Goyle had gotten off the train and spotted Draco in the large group. They moved over toward him as quickly as they could, causing Draco to immediately loose his good spirit as they arrived to him, both breathing heavily.

"We tried to catch up as fast as we could, sir," Crabbe stated between breaths.

Deciding to play the part that he knew so well, Draco through them both off with something that he would've said in the past. "You weren't fast enough, you worthless ingrates! Do you have all my things?"

Crabbe nodded quickly and started stuttering. "Yes... Yes, sir, Mr. Malfoy, sir."

"Oh, stop your pathetic stuttering, Crabbe," Draco said, irritated. "You're worthless. You know that?"

"Yes, sir," Crabbe said with a nod.

"Pathetic," Draco hissed as he turned to start off, but stopped right in his tracks as shock took over. Standing right there behind him was his father!

"Well, it's good to see that you still know how to boss around these two, Draco," Lucius said. "I'm proud to at least see that much hasn't changed."

"Father," Draco gulped. "Why are you here?"

"Is it not polite to see one's son off to school?" Lucius asked. "I normally do so at the house before you leave, but I was preoccupied with business. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course, father," Draco said, nodding a bit.

"I do wonder though why you rushed out of the train so quickly," Lucius commented. "You looked as if you were in terrible need of talking to someone, though I don't know why. Could you explain that little mystery to me perhaps?"

"It was nothing, father," Draco commented lightly. "I was trying to get out of the train, quickly because I needed some fresh air."

Lucius quickly, and without much effort, backhanded Draco across the face. "Don't you ever lie to me again!" Some of the students had noticed what had occurred, but they didn't dare interfere or stare, for it wouldn't have ended well for them, knowing the man that had made the dastardly move toward his own son.

Draco was forced to turn away after he was hit. His father had never intentionally hit him like that ever before, and after learning all he knew now, this made him want to attack his father in the rage that he felt, but all that managed to come out was a tear. He quickly wiped it away before looking back to his father. "Why did you do that?"

"I know you're lying," Lucius said. "You had better be careful, Draco. You may not think I have, but I took notice of the strange changes you've been going through since mid summer. I would hate for you to bring shame to the Malfoy name." He looked to Crabbe and Goyle. "Make sure he doesn't boys." Turning back to his son, he sneered slightly. "Know this, Draco. You are to soon receive The Dark Mark, and I want to make sure that your weakness is gone before then. I cannot have such pathetic tendencies within you. Understand that well. Your actions over the next few months will decide your future."

And with that, Lucius turned and began walking away, using his snake headed cane for extra support to his debonair walk as he went toward the fireplace in the train station's building. Obviously he'd used the floo network to get there so quickly, and it was a good thing that he had. Something was going on with Draco. He didn't entirely know what, but all of those days and nights over the summer that it appeared that Draco was trying to avoid him was more then obvious. He would discover the truth, even if he had to beat it out of his son when no one else was around.

As Draco watched his father use the floo network, staring a whole into him the entire time as the green flames overtook him and he disappeared, the blonde haired boy couldn't help but feel all of the color drain from his face. He was to receive The Dark Mark... Though the Slytherin had expected it to happen eventually, he hadn't really expected it to be so soon, especially in a few months, if that was true what his father was saying. It made Draco's feelings in the matters at hand even stronger. Time was short, and much had to be done.

Quickly glancing back to Crabbe and Goyle, he saw smug looks on their faces before they managed to wipe them away as quickly as they could. "Oh, you think what just happened is funny, don't you? Bloody hell. I want you both out of my sight. Ungrateful trolls. I don't need either of you." And with that, Draco stomped off for a carriage. He got onboard one that was nearly full, knowing that Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't be able to follow suit and smirked at the both of them as they were left behind.

However, his smirk faded as he realized that he was sharing a carriage with Longbottom, the girl Weasley, her two older twin brothers, and the strange white haired girl that was a little too happy for her own good. "Umm... Hi?"

"What do you think you're doing on here, Malfoy?" Ginny stated, a bit angrily.

"Ginny, don't," Neville stated lowly.

"No, that's alright, Longbottom," Draco sneered. "Let her talk. I could care less what a Weasley has to say to me anyway."

"I know why he's on here," Luna Lovegood stated calmly as she was looking at a book. "He wanted to get away from the two that follow him around all the time." She looked up from her book and smiled lightly at Draco. "I know what it's like to want to get some time away from people like them. I'm fine with you being here."

"You're probably the only one, lass," Fred said.

"That's right, Fred," George said.

"Come on, guys, we don't need to start a fight here," Neville said lowly. "I want to get off the carriage in one piece."

"At least Longbottom has the right idea," Draco said. He nodded slightly toward Luna as well for what she had said, though he still didn't feel all that normal around her. It was probably because he just didn't understand her all that well, not that it really mattered to him anyway. He didn't need to associate himself with these people much, even if they were Potter's friends.

"I saw what happened between you and your dad," George said.

"Aye, we both saw," Fred said.

"It was tense," they both said at the same time.

"You know, it's really creepy when you two talk at the same time like that," Draco sharply said to them, not wanting to discuss his family matters with a couple of Weasleys.

"I found the whole scene pretty funny," Ginny said. "It's just too bad that Harry didn't get to see it. He'd probably have got a kick out of it."

"You don't know what Potter would want, you little Weasel!" Draco yelled standing up, anger filling his face as he stared at the young girl.

"Hey, sit down, mate," George said.

"Yeah, it's all in good fun," Fred continued from his brother.

"I doubt your sister sees it that way," Draco sneered, not looking at either of them as he kept his eyes right on Ginny. He wanted to pull his wand on her, but resisted the urge to do so, knowing it wouldn't be good to try something like that against one of Harry's friends. Finally, he just sat down.

"Ginny, why are you challenging him like that for?" Neville whispered to her. "You're just making someone angry when he didn't do anything in the first place to prompt it."

"Ron's told me a lot of the things that creep has done and said in the past, Neville," Ginny said. "I can't believe that you're even sticking up for that Slytherin right now."

"I'm not sticking up for anyone," Neville said. "I just want you to calm down. Sorry."

"No, Neville, it's alright," Ginny said. "You're right. I shouldn't have acted like that. I'm sorry." Inside, she really wasn't all that sorry about it, considering who it was that she was apologizing for fighting against in the first place, but for Neville's sake, she'd drop it.

Draco leaned forward where he was sitting and clasped his hands together, thinking through everything, still fuming over the Weasley girl, irritated beyond belief that she'd rubbed salt in the wounds that he already had. It wasn't right, but then again, he'd never really been the most hospitable person to people like the ones that he was in the carriage with currently. He was a Malfoy after all, and it was in his nature to demean those that were lower in the wizarding world then himself, but now that he thought long and hard about it, that was really his father talking and not him. He had been trained to be someone that he never was in the first place, and it had to come to a stop.

Looking toward all of them once more, Draco sighed, knowing this would be the best way to start fixing all of the problems that he'd caused in the past. "Look, I doubt any of you will believe me when I say this, but I regret the way I've treated all of you, if I've wronged you in the past." And he sat back again after saying that.

"Was that supposed to be some sort of apology?" Ginny asked, shocked, but a bit appalled even still. "I definitely don't believe it."

"Ginny," Fred said, crossing his arms, and looking at her like she'd done something wrong.

"At least he's trying," George stated pointedly.

"You should give him the benefit of the doubt," the both said at the same time.

"I can't believe that the both of you actually believe a word that comes out of that ferret's mouth," Ginny stated.

Draco sighed. Obviously he had a long way to go where Ron's young sister was concerned, and it didn't surprise him. He was interested that the twins had been so kind about it, but, then again, they'd always pranksters and easy to get on one's good side if you were interested in the things they had to offer to someone.

"I believe you," Luna said, looking back to Draco again and away from her book once more. "I can tell that you're being truthful in what you say. Though you've never wronged me before, I can tell you mean what you say."

Ginny went quiet again after what Luna had said. She had meant to speak on what had been said, but she found that she couldn't really think of something to say. Luna seemed to always have a calming affect about her for some odd reason that Ginny could never exactly understand all that well. She wasn't quite ready to believe the white haired girl, but she decided not to speak again on the manor even still, waiting to speak with Ron about what had occurred on the carriage.

Neville was equally as quiet as Ginny. He remembered all the teasing he'd received from Malfoy in the first year, especially about his weight, and he knew that the Malfoy's had problems with his family in the past, but he didn't know if Draco had took that upon himself as well. It might've been the case, and anyway, he was with Ginny on not being willing to believe Draco just yet. He just wasn't going to voice his views of it.

Draco seemed to feel a bit better after what Luna had said, finding it very interesting to him how trusting and understanding that girl could actually be of someone. His mother would've really liked her. She might've gotten a good laugh out of the Weasley twins too, though he never really knew for sure since she was taken from him long before he'd ever had the chance to get to know her. It was a sad twist of fate to grow up without a mother, and one could only wonder how Harry had managed to grow up without either of his biological parents in his life.

Pulling himself away from his thoughts, Draco noticed that the carriage was getting ready to come to a stop at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. A small smile appeared on his lips as he saw the front gates coming closer by the second. It wouldn't be long till he was safe in the school. The blonde wasn't sure how safe he'd actually be there, considering that his father could probably floo in whenever he wanted, wherever he wanted, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about some form of extreme punishment or whatnot.

* * *

The Forbidden Forest hadn't seemed as creepy in the daylight as it did at night, but no matter what time someone was in there, it was still a pretty dreary and downright scary place to be. There was no telling what someone would end up running into out there, but Harry Potter knew of an area that Ron surely wouldn't want to go anywhere near, that being where the giant spiders lived.

However, no matter what, they had someone that normally wasn't there to protect them whenever they had to go into the forest: Professor Severus Snape. He was leading them, looking back toward them to make sure that all three were keeping up the entire time. For the most part, there had been silence so far during the trip, and Harry wasn't sure if he should break it or not, in fear of being snapped at by Professor Snape. Snape was never someone you wanted on your bad side. That was for sure.

"Are you going to speak up sometime today, Potter?" Snape asked hurriedly, breaking the silence. "You're slower at getting back on the topic then my grandmother was."

Ron chuckled a bit at what Snape said, but tried to stifle it as best he could so he didn't anger Professor Snape. He saw Hermione give him a glance that told him to keep silent without having to even say it. The red head simply shook his head and kept moving.

"Well, I do want to know what's going on, Professor," Harry said. "I just wasn't sure I should bother you with..."

"You've bothered me more in the past then a lot of people have, Potter," Snape stated, looking in every direction as they kept going. "In this instance though, you do not need to remain silent. I'm sure Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley have informed you of what's going on, correct?"

"Yes, but none of it really makes any..." Harry was cut off again.

"It's not supposed to make sense, Potter," Snape sneered as he stopped and turned to face the boy and his two best friends. "The Order figured you wouldn't understand, and they were right in that assumption."

"But why are they trying so hard to pull me out of the war?" Harry asked, frustrated. "Professor Dumbledore knows that the prophecy stated that either I or Voldemort had to die, and he and I both know that if Voldemort dies, I have to be the one to do it. The war will never end if they try to keep me from it."

"Yes, they all know that very well," Snape said. "But their problem is that they believe if you're out of sight and out of mind that Voldemort won't cause more problems this year. I know different, and so does Remus."

"You two have never really gotten along all that well, Professor," Harry stated. "I can't believe that you two are actually agreeing on something now."

"Well you'd best starting believing it, because we're the only two Order members on your side right now," Snape said, glaring at Harry before turning and starting to move off once more.

"How are you going to keep me secret at Hogwarts?" Harry asked. "There's no way that I can take my classes."

"For the time being, yes, that is the case, but I promise you that Remus and I have a plan to fix all of this as soon as remotely possible," Snape said.

"Won't Professor Dumbledore know that he's in Hogwarts though?" Hermione asked. "Very little gets past him."

"There are ways of getting past the Headmaster's keen senses, I assure you, Miss Granger," Snape replied. He could see Hogwarts through the trees in the distance, but they would still have a bit to go.

"What would those be?" Hermione asked.

"Despite that you believe you need to know every little thing in the wizarding world before your ready, Miss Granger, does not mean that you're going to be told what it is," Snape replied sharply. "All you need to know is that Mr. Potter will be safe very soon."

As they neared the edge of The Forbidden Forest, Ron took a breath of fresh air, glad that they would soon be out of there. Every time he was in that forest, he was afraid of being attacked by the giant spiders and usually ended up having nightmares about it for weeks afterwards. If it wasn't for all of the tense conversation going on, his thoughts would be entirely on the spiders, but he had other things to worry about as well.

Emerging from the forest, Snape turned to look at the three as they exited from behind him as well. "You will have to stay in my quarters for quite some time, Mr. Potter. Remus will be arriving soon to assist in things as the full moon will pass over in a couple days, and he'll be free of his curse for awhile in order to help me out. I don't know how quickly we'll be able to clear you back, but there's almost a good chance you'll end up a semester behind everyone else."

"There has to be a way around that, Professor," Harry said, frustrated. "I don't want to be behind my friends. I didn't ask for this. Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Do you know of the classes you were going to be taking this term?" Snape asked sharply.

"Yes, I guess," Harry said. "But they were only the obvious ones like Defense Against The Dark Arts 6th Year, the next level of Divination, and your 6th Year of Potions class. Oh, and I was going to take Hagrid's Mythical Creatures next level."

"I can instruct you privately in all but the last of those," Snape said. "Hagrid would need to teach that to you himself, and we're not sure where his loyalty stands at the moment."

"Since he sided with Professor Dumbledore too, right?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but the big oaf was always a friend of yours, was he not?" Snape inquired.

"Yeah," Harry replied.

"Then there's a chance that we can get his help in our camp as well, but I'll need Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley to take care of speaking with him," Snape said, looking to both of them.

"We'll take care of it, Professor," Hermione said.

"Very good," Snape said. "I'll need you both to do that now while I take Mr. Potter to my... our quarters. Do you have your things, Potter?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "They're all shrunk except Hedwig's cage." He'd been carrying the cage the whole time, but had shrunk his trunk before getting on the train back in London and placed it on his pocket. The trunk was still in there as he felt for it.

Snape nodded sharply. "Alright then. Good luck, Ms. Granger. Mr. Weasley. We take our leave. Come, Potter."

Harry waved a short goodbye to Ron and Hermione and started off after Professor Snape, trying to keep up as best he could as the black garbed teacher was moving rather quickly to get to the school. He was sure that it was because they needed to get in unseen and to where he wouldn't be found until needed to be. There were still unanswered questions in Harry's mind about everything, but he was sure that all would be revealed in time.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As the carriage stopped at the front gate of Hogwarts, Draco jumped off and made his way into the grounds area, nodding briefly to Mr. Filch, holding Mrs. Norris as usual. The man had always been crude, but he had been on the side of Doris Umbridge the year before. Then again, Draco resented now that he had joined up with that witch in the first place. The blonde truly had no idea what he was getting himself into in all honesty. He couldn't blame himself for all of that though even still. He hadn't known then what he knew now.

Sneering at that ludicrous idea, Draco continued walking, knowing good and well what he'd been getting himself into. The Slytherin knew that Lord Voldemort really had returned, but he had been pressured by his father to help Umbridge as much as he could, despite that he didn't really want to. He knew that the woman, despite being an upstanding individual in The Ministry of Magic, was, just like his father, a Death Eater. She wasn't nearly as involved in The Dark Lord's missions though. She was more or less an inside person to the politics of everything, but she had failed in the end to keep everyone at the Ministry from finding out that it was all true on Voldemort's return.

Last Draco had heard though, Umbridge had been discharged from The Ministry of Magic for her conduct, and it had even been rumored that she was the one that had sent the Dementors after Potter before the fifth year was to have actually began. No proof had been brought forward, so instead of being sent to Azkaban Prison for it, she was let go to roam freely, and was probably now one of Voldemort's right hand minions. It made Draco wonder if Filch was on The Dark Lord's side as well, considering that he had been so willing to do her bidding. He wasn't part of Slytherin by no stretch of the imagination, and Professor Snape hadn't even joined in her fight.

Shaking his head, trying to get the lingering thoughts to just go away, Draco entered the beautiful castle and moved toward the grand dining hall. That was where everyone started out the beginning of the year after all for the great feast. Sadly, he would be unable to actually speak to Potter there either without having to deal with the glares of those he could no longer trust within Slytherin. The blonde needed to be patient though. His chance to speak with Harry James Potter would come soon enough.

Upon entering the dining hall, Draco saw a lot of people were already filed in, ready for the feast, but still many hadn't even arrived yet. Potter and his two closest friends weren't even at the Gryffindor table, which he noticed by taking a slight glance in the direction of the normal place that they sat at, where Seamus Finnegan was already sitting. He could hear the talking of those that he'd rode in the carriage with behind him entering the dining hall as well, but ignored their voices as he moved toward his normal location, sitting down right beside Pansy Parkinson.

A large, devilish like smile appeared on Pansy's face as she looked to the blonde haired beauty that had been in her dreams so much of late. The Slytherin girl placed her hand on her chin and looked him over. "I was hoping you'd get here before long. Where are Crabbe and Goyle at?"

"I left them behind," Draco replied with a sneer. "They're too slow to follow me anyway." He did his best not to take notice of the way Pansy was acting around him. He'd gotten used to her melting in lust over him ever sense the Yule Ball, but he really wished it'd just stop. There were many times that the blonde simply wanted to tell her that he was gay and for her to simply leave her childish fantasies of him in her thoughts and not display them for the world to see.

Pansy laughed at what Draco had said to her in response to her question about the goons that were at his every beak and call. "That's good. It gives the two of us more time to be alone together."

"We're far from alone right now, Pansy," Draco stated pointedly at all of the other people in the dining hall with them. "Besides, why would I want to be alone with you anyway?"

Feeling a bit hurt by what Draco said, Pansy hit him on the arm rather hard. "Sometimes I wish you'd actually be a nicer person."

"Sometimes I wish you'd just shut the bloody hell up," Draco retorted, not even looking at her as he turned away trying to find something to keep himself occupied, noticing Blaise Zabini further down the table. The problem was, Blaise noticed him staring and Draco wasn't entirely quick enough to turn away. Turning a bit red in the face, the blonde knew that he'd been caught. There was a first time for everything it seemed, but if he was lucky, Blaise would just let it go. However, it seemed that Draco's luck had been a bit thin of late.

Anger had swelled in Pansy, and she'd found herself wishing that there was something that she could throw at Draco, but sadly all of the food wouldn't appear until old man Dumbledore was willing to allow it to appear. Even still though, Pansy was a bit worried about Draco, despite how angry she was from his comments. The Slytherin Prince had never acted the way he had just done to her before. Something didn't make sense about that at all, and it definitely didn't settle well in her stomach. She would need to keep her eyes on Draco to make sure that something wasn't up. It probably wasn't any of her business, but she planned to make it her business nonetheless.

The dining hall was filing up rather quickly, Draco noticed. The problem was that there was still no Harry Potter or his two bothersome friends in sight. The blonde was probably just overreacting though. He tried to keep telling himself that. They'd be there. No one missed the great feast at the beginning of the year. Someone would've had to have been crazy, dead, or in some dire trouble to miss out on what was to come after the sorting session for the first years, which would probably begin soon.

* * *

Rubius Hagrid's small hut had been a quick walk when Ron and Hermione left Harry and Professor Snape behind. They had to be quick about this visit, because missing the opening ceremony and feast wouldn't have been good, and Dumbledore or someone else would've ended up asking questions to them that they wouldn't be able to give the answer to without jeopardizing Snape and Lupin's plans. Smoke was billowing out of the small fireplace, so it was easy to tell that Hagrid was in, which was good, considering that he'd been gone the whole first semester the previous year trying to get the giants to join Dumbledore's side.

After Ron knocked on the door, it was only a few moments before the door swung open, the large, hairy man that the two knew well standing there smiling at them. "Aye, Ron, 'Mione, what are you two doin down ere? Soundn't you be at the feast? I was jus on my way there meself."

"Yes, we were, Hagrid, but we needed to talk to you first," Hermione said.

"Alright," Hagrid said, closing his door as he came outside. "We'll talk on the way ere then." He chuckled a bit to himself in the one way that Hagrid could best and started moving, his large feet taking giant strides as he went. "So was this about?"

"Hermione and I were asked to come down here and speak to you in concerns of what was decided about Harry," Ron replied, not quite wanting to go straight into the details since he wasn't sure how Hagrid would take it.

"Aye, poor 'Arry," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "In all onesty, I didn want him to not be allowed back, mind ya, but nearly everyone else raised eir hand, so I figured I ad no choice. It wasn a right decision though, if ya ask me."

"We agree, Hagrid," Hermione said. "And we're glad to hear your real view of things now. What we have to tell you though cannot be said to anyone else. You can't even talk to Dumbledore about it."

"Well, I don know if I can do that, Mione," Hagrid said. "I don really like ta keep things from ol' Dumbledore. He's been too good to me over the years."

"This is for Harry's justice though, Hagrid," Ron said. "Do you remember that Professors Snape and Lupin were the ones that were against Harry not coming back?"

"Aye," Hagrid stated with a nod. "I member well. Thas why I was confused over ether to keep my hand up or not."

"They both managed to get Harry here," Ron informed him. "Professor Snape is taking him..."

"Somewhere that he'll be safe for the time being," Hermione finished, not sure if she was ready for Hagrid to know where exactly Harry would be at. "And we need your help. Harry needs your help."

Hagrid was shocked. "Oh, my... They'll throw them both out of the Order, they will. This ain't good. Nope. They'd have me out too if they knew I knew and didn tell."

"Hagrid, Harry's your friend," Hermione reminded him, moving in front of him, to stop him from continuing onward with his walk as they were almost to the bridge. "We all need your help. Professor Snape even asked for us to get your help personally."

"Snape!" Hagrid exclaimed, very shocked. "I always thought that man thought of me as useless to tell ya the truth. It's a bit shockin if you're tellin the truth."

"It is the truth, Hagrid," Ron said. "Professor Snape's going to teach Harry all of his classes, but the one that you teach. You're the more qualified person for it obviously."

"Well course I am!" Hagrid pronounced proudly. "There ain't no better teacher of Mythical Creatures, I'll tell ya that."

"Then you should understand why we need you," Hermione said. "I know it'll mean having to teach the same material twice a day, but at least it would only be to one person the second time you taught it, and probably later in the evening when you're free to do so in the first place."

"Please say you'll do it, Hagrid," Ron asked of him.

"Oh, alright!" Hagrid said, giving in much more quickly then he probably should've. He was truly just an old softy when it came down to it though. "And I promise not to tell Dumbledore. Ya should both know tha he'll find out one way or nother though. He's good about that."

"Yes, but I'm sure Snape and Lupin both have a plan," Hermione said, shaking her head a bit remembering what Snape had told her in the forest earlier. "Snape just isn't going to be forthcoming about it though."

Hagrid nodded. "Best ya don know anyway. On with ya both now. You need to get to the dining hall, and not at the same time as me. Might cause the other professors to ask questions."

"Thanks, Hagrid," Ron said with a nod before he turned and started off for the bridge.

Hermione followed after him, smiling, her own way of thanking Hagrid as she kept going, following after Ron, pleased with the result they had gotten from The Order member. There were now three members that were on their side in concerns of Harry. It was better to be another man up then another man down. That was for sure. The more allies they had, the better, but they had to watch who they trusted in. Just anyone wouldn't do.

* * *

Professor Albus Dumbledore stepped down from his spiral staircase that led up into his study only to find that Professor Minerva McGonagall was there waiting for him, a look of worry on her face as she closed the distance between the both of them. "What's wrong, Minerva?"

"Tonks gave me a report a few minutes ago," McGonagall replied. "She used the floo network to let me know that when she arrived at the Dursley's home, Mr. Potter was already gone."

"Has The Knight Bus reported in?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, Alistor informed Tonks of that information as she had gone to him first," McGonagall replied. "Alistor said that Mr. Potter hasn't tried to get pickup from The Knight Bus."

"I just spoke with Arthur at The Leaky Caldron, and he said that all was clear there," Dumbledore informed. "And I'm sure if he was in Diagon Alley, Kingsley would've reported in."

"What about Knockturn Alley?" McGonagall asked. "You wouldn't think that Mr. Potter would go there, do you?"

"I can't be sure," Dumbledore replied. "He might take refuge there, but the problem is that Harry doesn't know anything of the decision that was made within The Order as far as I know. The Order will need to convene a meeting soon if Mr. Potter isn't found. Is Tonks sure that Harry didn't just leave the house to go somewhere with one of the muggles?"

"She said that all three of them were at the house eating," McGonagall said. "For all we know, Tonks could've missed seeing him leave by mere moments. I knew there was no way to keep Mr. Potter at that horrid house, Albus. He's never had a good, solid family unit that cared for him there, even if they were the only family he had left."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I know. I was the one that made the initial decision to place Harry there in the first place. Perhaps it was a mistake to have done so. I could've left him with one of the wizarding families that were willing to take him."

"The one that expressed the greatest interest though was Lucius Malfoy," McGonagall reminded the headmaster. "Surely you realize that if you had allowed The Ministry to leave the boy with anyone, they would've placed him in his care. That would've been disastrous, Albus."

"Very true," Dumbledore stated, seeming that he was in intense thought as he finally started walking down the hallway with his hands clasped together behind his back. The headmaster was hunched slightly as he walked like that, but it wasn't enough to really notice. "I'm not sure if Harry will manage to find his way here or not. We both know how resourceful The Chosen One can be, but I'm just as much so. It's something we both have in common after all."

"What must we do in the meantime?" McGonagall asked.

"We must go about the beginning of the year as best we can," Dumbledore replied. "Hogwarts will feel much different without Harry around, and I've been questioning the decision made more and more, but I can't help but feel completely responsible for everything that Harry has gone through all these years. The prophecy may state that Harry's intertwined to the war, but he's just a boy, Minerva. He shouldn't have to put the whole world on his shoulders."

"And I can't help but wonder if it was the right decision to not give Mr. Potter any say in the matter," McGonagall stated. "We made this decision so late on, and now he'll be a year behind his classmates, those he's called friends the past five years. I feel guilty over the whole thing."

"It's reassuring to know that I'm not the only one having these doubts," Dumbledore stated, unable to keep from making a slight chuckle. "And here I thought I was alone on these feelings. However, we must put this out of our minds for the time being. Professor Flitwick will be starting the opening choral performance soon, and we can't keep everyone waiting."

McGonagall nodded as she kept walking beside Dumbledore, thinking about the entire situation to herself. Her plaguing thoughts made her worried of what was yet to come. They were playing with the fates, trying to keep Mr. Potter out of the impending war, and hoping beyond hope that Voldemort would leave the child alone if he was no longer part of the equation. It was a gamble that she felt would end up in disaster. One thing was for sure, The Order would have to be ready for anything.

* * *

Professor Severus Snape led Harry Potter toward a back, more hidden entrance of Hogwarts so that way they wouldn't be spotted by Filch, whom was probably on the lookout for Potter in the first place. It was, from what Snape had said, a secret entrance that the teachers used on occasion to get in and out of the school so they could make trips to Hogsmeade whenever need be without being spotted by noisy students. However, Harry now shared that common knowledge that most students weren't privy to.

"Inside, Potter," Snape snapped. "Quickly now, before we're spotted."

Harry did as he was told, walking through the door that Snape was holding open for him, and into darkness. As Snape closed the door upon entering himself, He called out 'lumos' and his wand lit up, showing a spiral staircase going upwards and downward. Harry figured it would lead to the dungeon if he went down, and that was probably the direction that Professor Snape wanted him to go in anyway.

"Are you going to stand there all bloody evening, or are we going to actually make some progress here?" Snape asked, extremely annoyed.

Harry nodded quickly and started going down the stairs, not getting any disapproval on the direction that the raven haired boy had chosen. As they continued onward, the Gryffindor brought out his own wand and whispered 'lumos' allowing more light to appear so he could actually see better down the darkened area. This passage reminded Harry of mystery novels he used to read when he was younger about mansions and castles that had secret passageways in them, and found himself wondering what other locations within the school he didn't already know about. Once he had the earliest opportunity, he would drag out his invisibility cloak and go exploring. Considering that he wouldn't exactly be having classes for awhile at least, there needed to be something to keep himself occupied.

"That door down there, take it," Snape ordered sharply.

Harry nodded and slowly opened the door. "Where does the rest of stairs go?"

"You don't need to concern yourself with that, Potter," Snape replied. "And if I find that you've decided to go on a little hunt to find out at any point, you will find yourself no longer under my guard and on the train home."

Harry said nothing else on the subject and exited the door, emerging into a dungeon corridor. As Snape walked out, Harry turned to see him close the door, realizing that it was actually connected to a tapestry. That obviously explained why the door was so well hidden at least. The secrets of the school never ceased it seemed. Knowing where he was now, Harry started moving off toward Snape's office, which was connected to his sleeping quarters as well, figuring that was where they were going, and once again, Snape didn't correct him.

"Potter, I need to ask you something important," Snape stated. "When Lupin was taking you to the train station, did you get the feeling that you were being watched or followed?"

"No," Harry replied. "Of course, I didn't know then what I know now."

"Indeed," Snape sneered. "Despite not being of knowledge, everyone has a sense about them that would indeed reveal to them the feeling of being watched though. If you felt nothing, then there probably was nothing. Lupin must've managed to get something right for once by getting you out of there before an Order member arrived to watch you. You won't be able to go anywhere outside of Hogwarts, I'm afraid, and unless your stealth skills have improved, which I wouldn't be surprised if they have, considering who I'm talking to, then you might not be able to go many places here."

"Especially since we're in Slytherin territory," Harry commented.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Snape snapped, glaring at Harry as he stopped walking, clasping his hands behind his back, the light from his wand illuminating the wall.

"No, I don't guess," Harry said.

"Yes," Snape stated, rolling his tongue slightly. "Considering that you were supposed to be on this side of the school anyway."

Harry was shocked, but did his best to cover it with fake confusion. "What are you talking about, Professor?"

"Oh, don't give me that," Snape said. "Save it for the drama professor. The Sorting Hat has always been willing to talk to me... As I'm sure you remember from that memory that you stole from me, I had a difficult childhood here, and that hat was one of the few that actually spoke to me without belittling me like your blasted father and his cocky friends."

Harry recalled what Snape was speaking of. Snape had tried to help Harry take better control of his mind, and to learn to keep Voldemort out since there was a very strong connection between the both of them. However, the sessions ended when Harry retaliated the spell toward Snape and saw the way his father used to treat Professor Snape.

"I'm sure you know what I'm talking about now, don't you, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked, though it was more a statement then a question as he pulled his hands back to the front once more, putting the light from his wand closer to Harry's face before he turned and started walking again. "The Sorting Hat has never allowed anyone to overrule what he really thinks, but somehow you were able to get what you wanted instead."

Harry began moving once more when Snape did and listened to what his potions professor was saying. "The hat was wrong, Professor. I belong in Gryffindor."

"Oh, wake up, Potter," Snape snapped before stopping once more and turning his wand toward Harry's face again. "Just because your father and mother were Gryffindors doesn't mean you were destined to be one. If it hadn't been for Dumbledore's intervention, putting you with the Dursley's, you would've been raised to be more Slytherin then you obviously already are."

"More secrets?" Harry asked, thrusting his own wand in Snape's face, the light causing Snape to retract slightly before looking back. "I knew The Order had been hiding more from me. What is it that I don't know?"

"It would be best if you got that information from your headmaster," Snape stated with an angered glare toward Harry for mimicking what he was already doing with his own wand.

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "I've been in the dark long enough, Professor. I have to know what's been kept from me. Why do you think I belonged in Slytherin? What did Dumbledore do to prevent it?"

"He was the reason you were put with the Dursley's," Snape stated dryly. "He figured being with those filthy muggles would be better then the alternative."

"And that was?" Harry asked, pulling his wand even closer to Snape's face.

"Get your wand out of my face before I break it for you," Snape demanded. "You should know better then to treat your superiors in this way."

"Fine," Harry said, lowering the wand. "What was the alternative?"

"The Ministry of Magic wanted you to be left in capable hands that could raise you to be brave and powerful enough to lead the wizarding world someday," Snape replied, straightening the wrinkles from his black robes with his free hand. He then looked back to Harry, ready to deliver the most shocking of the information. "They wanted you to be left with Lucius Malfoy."

Harry's mouth dropped. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No, there must be some mistake. You're lying."

Snape shook his head. "If it were only that easy. Lucius had specifically asked The Ministry to allow you to be cared by him. His... wife had recently past away, and he felt it would be a healthy change for Draco to have a brother, even if he wasn't by blood to alleviate the difficult struggle he would have by not having a mother."

Harry hadn't caught Snape's reluctance to say the word 'wife' as he was too busy trying to take everything in. "Why didn't Dumbledore ever tell me this?"

"For the same reason he never tells you anything else, Potter!" Snape exclaimed. "He thinks it's to protect you and keep from you getting hurt, but in the end, you keep finding these things out anyway one way or another, and it just hurts all the more, doesn't it?"

Harry nodded. The raven haired boy had to admit that his professor had a point. "You're right. I can't believe I'm just now finding this out. I was supposed to become a Malfoy, and The Ministry didn't even tell me this."

"They figured it was water under the bridge by the time you surfaced your first year in Hogwarts," Snape said, turning to start moving again as he sighed inwardly, knowing he was probably going to be thrown off the grounds for everything, and he just kept making it worse for himself.

"I guess that would be Dumbledore's excuse as well then?" Harry asked as he moved to catch up to Snape. "Does Malfoy know any of this?"

"Of course he knows," Snape snapped, glaring back at Harry as he kept moving. "Were you not paying attention what I was saying before?"

"I'm not talking about Lucius," Harry said. "I mean... Draco."

This time, Snape sighed out loud. "No. Lucius never told Draco, and I didn't bother either. It would've been a waste of time."

"All this time, Malfoy and I were supposed to be like brothers, and yet we've ended up bitter enemies because of Dumbledore," Harry stated.

"Yes," Snape merely stated lowly. "Interesting how that man can cause so much chaos over such a little thing. The Order had a large part to play in the decision to have you with The Dursley's though. I wasn't as trusted with them at the time since I had just recently been converted as their spy not too long after your parents were murdered and Pettigrew disappeared. There's rumor that the Longbottoms were killed by Bellatrix Lestrange upon request by her brother after Dumbledore made the decision. It only goes to confirm that despite that The Dark Lord was gone, The Death Eaters continued on, feeling that you would become the next Lord Voldemort."

"My placement with the Dursley's caused Neville's parents to be killed?" Harry asked in shock.

"The Headmaster never really got over that, but to this day, he knows that the sacrifice had to be made in order for you to be on the proper side," Snape stated, finally arriving upon his chambers. Opening the door, he stepped aside to allow Harry to enter. "I must get to the dining hall. I'll bring you some food once I can slip out of there unseen, so do not worry. Despite that it would be rather enjoyable, I'm not like the Dursley's and won't let you starve down here. Think over everything, and we'll speak again later once everything has had time to settle.

Harry nodded solemnly as he entered the chamber, the door closing immediately once he was inside. Looking around the potions office that made up the first area of Snape's quarters, Harry couldn't help but start crying softly to himself, coming to the realization that he had been in the dark over so much, and he couldn't help but wonder what other tragic events had occurred because of him that he didn't know about. He was supposed to have been a Malfoy, a friendship would've obviously been formed between him and Draco, and Neville's parents were killed because of Dumbledore's actions.

Walking over to the bed chambers, Harry felt all strength leave him as he sat down on the bed, the smell of Professor Snape everywhere around him. He didn't care about the smell of the room though. His thoughts were plagued with all he now knew. His life had been a lie from the start. As much as he didn't want to admit it, there was no denying the facts. The tears began to flow more freely as he lied down on the bed, burying his face in one of the pillows, not wanting the world to see the wreck that Harry Potter had become in only a few minutes time.

**Arthur's Note:**

Please review if it's not too much to ask. I could really use the advice, comments, and so forth so I know if I'm doing an ok job here or not. I would like to thank fifespice for reviewing every chapter so far. It's good to know that someone is still reading the story and what you're feeling about the chapters that I'm producing. I would also like to thank unforgivable curse caster and SLNS for commenting on the prologue.


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